Bithoraxians
The Bithoraxians of Gemeni II were originally introduced to the Galactic Empire by Harrican Syldanade, who brought the first recording of the Bithoraxian's ambirhythmic music to Terra. However, since Syldanade's discovery was thought by many to be a hoax, the confirmation of Gemeni II's existence and its entry into the Empire did not actually occur until much later. Physiology Bithoraxians do indeed, in accordance with their name, possess two thoraxes (apiece), but many xenobiologists have wondered why the emphasis is given to the thoraxes, since the Bithoraxians also each possess two heads, two abdomens, two pairs each of legs and arms, two brains, hearts, and other assorted organs, and in fact two entire and fully separate bodies.My own research suggests a possible explanation: the Bithoraxians appear to regard the body's thorax as the "Home of Attention" -- that is, the seat of their focus and sense of self, similar to the manner in which ancient Terran races believed the brain to be the seat of the soul, or the heart to be the seat of the emotions. Such a belief, in a race of people with one mind in two bodies, could well result in their name for themselves being "Bithoraxian". The only singular attribute of a Bithoraxian is his or her sense of self, or ego, or (should you be of a religious inclination) soul. The Bithoraxians are therefore known for being a race of the galaxy's smallest hive-minds -- indeed the smallest possible hive-minds, by definition. A Bithoraxian's two bodies are always born the same sex. It is not unheard of for a Bithoraxian to have sex-reassignment surgery on only one of their bodies, but these people are viewed as being on the hedonistic outer fringes of Bithoraxian culture: either wildly polyamorous, or pathologically self-worshiping. It is perhaps worth noting that, while performing an act of sexual congress with ones other self is not considered unusual (within the confines of one's own rooms at any rate), the idea of acquiring highly-sophisticated sex-reassignment surgery and then impregnating oneself is strongly taboo (likely due to increased odds of genetic malformity in the offspring). Psychology It is important to note that, despite being referred to as a 'hive-mind', a Bithoraxian is not two separate people ruled by a collective 'overmind', as is the case with most hive-minds such as the Forminids of Troxnas Theta, the various planets infected with strains of Cordyceps Wyndhamii, or "Harold" of Harold's World, and as such do not suffer from the problem of an individual becoming distressed or insane due to being separated from the rest of the hive mentality. In fact it seems that such a separation is literally impossible; even when their bodies are light-years apart, Bithoraxians report no ill effects other than the confusion that results from trying to deal with two wildly different cultural situations simultaneously (and in fact Bithoraxians who do a lot of simultaneous travelling to different worlds quickly learn that it's best to establish opposing activity schedules where one of their bodies is touring or conducting business while the other sits quietly in the hotel, and vice-versa, providing for less intensive multitasking). Experiments with electromagnetic interference and other methods of separation have also proved fruitless, and if one of a Bithoraxian's bodies is destroyed, the remaining body's suffering does not appear to be substantially different from that of a Terran who loses one of his arms. For example, if you were to ask a Bithoraxian crippled in this manner if she was lonely, she probably would not understand the question. Bithoraxians are (quite naturally) excellent multitaskers, capable of performing complicated tasks with each of their two bodies simultaneously. They appear to find this to be easier when the two bodies' activities are in rather different domains -- for example, jogging with one body while writing a letter with the other -- though some Bithoraxians are noted for being able to accomplish quite convoluted and similar tasks simultaneously, such as the eminent novelist Emithile Voghannaucht, who regularly published her romantic mystery novels -- each one quite intricate and unique within the series -- two at a time.When the peculiar duality of the Bithoraxians was discovered by the rest of the Empire, many musicians protested that ambirhythmic music was therefore "not all that special". Defenders of the art, Harrican Syldanade and Dweecisco Offields among them, pointed out that though the Bithoraxians have two bodies and a mind that lends itself well to multitasking, performing two wildly different yet harmonizing rhythms and melodies simultaneously was (as Syldanade himself put it) "rather akin to writing a letter to both your mother and your solicitor with a pen in each hand." Of course, occasionally the situation requires a focusing of attention toward one of the two bodies; a hand-gesture common to all Bithoraxian societies across Gemeni II is the placing of one hand across the eyes, while the other hand covers the mouth -- this signifies "Excuse me please, my other body requires my undivided attention for a moment." Most Bithoraxians have a dominant or favored body; this is less similar to human right- or left-handedness (where it is more difficult to perform tasks with the less-dominant hand), and more akin to a Terran child playing all four colors in a game of Ludo, and hoping Red will win. They will frequently refer to their bodies as 'Alpha' and 'Beta' (or 'one' and 'two', or similar), and generally use only the Alpha body for important meetings, society functions, and so forth. This leads to a feeling of social anxiety and awkwardness if a Bithoraxian should be forced to attend an important function with their Beta (despite the fact that most Bithoraxians' bodies are physically indistinguishable from one anotherThere are exceptions. Some Bithoraxians prefer to reserve physical labor for one of their two bodies, and consequently the one may be rather more muscular than the other. It is also common for young Bithoraxians to cultivate wildly different hair, makeup, and/or clothing styles for their two bodies, though this is usually a phase grown out of by adulthood., so it is generally only obvious discomfort that would clue anyone else in to the situation). However, since almost all Bithoraxians suffer from this neurosis, there is no social stigma whatsoever attached to attending an important function with your Beta, because everyone is sympathetic to the situation. A common exchange overheard at a fancy party on Gemeni II might be: :"Why Trenevieve, you look positively distraught! Whatever is the matter?" :"Dash it all, I'm in my Beta -- my Alpha's flight from Fenexti III was delayed, and I couldn't get it here in time." :"Oh, you poor dear! Here, have some more grongaberry wine, that will take your mind off of it." When a Bithoraxian finds himself in this situation, he is apt to feel rather silly for being upset by it -- but, rather than diminish the anxiety, this only serves to heighten it in somewhat of a vicious circle. Bithoraxians who do not suffer from this social phobia are considered to be uncommonly well-adjusted people, and all manner of seminars and self-help books are dedicated to the topic. Art It is perhaps unsurprising that many, if not most Bithoraxian works of art are dualistic in some manner. Their Ambirhythmic Music has already been mentioned, but the concept of a work of art comprised of two differing yet complementary parts is widespread throughout Bithoraxian culture. For example, many novels are published which consist of two discrete volumes, intended to be read simultaneously, which describe the events that occur within a single period of time from the perspective of the main character's two bodies (or, less commonly, the same events experienced from the point of view of two different characters). In a similar vein, there are motion-pictures composed of two different films shown on different screens, intended for simultaneous viewing by both of an audience member's bodies. One famous example is "Lacrotionsaal müc Shalampideré" (loosely translated: "Before Togetherness and After Togetherness"), directed by Rothert Solomerni, a romantic comedy which depicted (on the first screen) the lives of a young couple in the year before they were married, and (on the second screen) their lives in the year after they were married, with the second film played in reverse (the dialogue being subtitled), so that both films ended with the nuptial kiss. Pfeltian artist Glennis Agintrope (creator of the infamous Agintrope Portraits) was reportedly "fascinated" with simultaneously-viewed Bithoraxian art, and in 1741 painted a series of twenty-four portraits in twelve pairs -- each pair depicting a famous Galactic politician or celebrity, with one canvas showing the subject's outward public appearance and how people see them, and the second revealing their private life and how they see themselves. The paintings were a featured exhibition in the Chlorasicii Museum of Modern Culture on Gemeni II -- displayed in two separate rooms in opposite wings of the Museum, naturally. It will probably not be a surprise to any reader of this archive that paintings #11 and 12, featuring Harrican Syldanade, vanished mysteriously en route to the museum, and were never recovered. Footnotes